How to Get Up Off the Floor After a Fall

The first rule after a fall is simple: don’t rush. Stay still, breathe, and check yourself for injury before you try to move, because getting up the wrong way (or too quickly) can make things worse. According to healthdirect’s guide to older people and falls, falling once or more a year is common for people aged 65 and over, so knowing how to get up safely is a skill worth practising before you ever need it.

In this article you’ll learn when to get up or stay down, a step-by-step method using a sturdy chair, what to do if you can’t get up, and four exercises that build the strength to do it.

Why knowing how to get up matters

For many older adults, the harder part of a fall is what happens next. Lying on a cold kitchen floor for a long time, unable to get up, is frightening and can be harmful in its own right.

Falls can also cause hip fractures and other serious injuries. That’s why the aim is not to get up at any cost. The aim is to know when it’s safe to get up, how to do it with the least strain, and when to stay where you are and call for help.

Should you get up or stay down?

Before you move anything, lie still, slow your breathing and let the shock settle. Then check your body from head to toe.

Stay down, keep warm, and call for help (or triple zero, 000, for a severe fall) if any of these apply:

• You have pain in your hip, groin or thigh, or one leg looks shorter or turned out
• You can’t put weight through a leg, or moving it causes sharp pain
• You hit your head, especially if you feel dizzy, confused, sick or drowsy
• You have chest pain, shortness of breath or new weakness on one side
• You feel faint or the room is spinning
• You’ve already tried to get up and couldn’t

If you’re staying down, press your personal alarm if you have one, and keep as warm and comfortable as you can.

If you feel shaken but nothing hurts badly, you can usually try the method below. Go slowly, and stop at any step if pain or dizziness comes on.

How to get up off the floor, step by step

This method uses your stronger muscles and a stable piece of furniture, rather than trying to stand straight up from lying flat. Use a solid chair, bed or couch, never anything on wheels.

Step	What you do	What it needs from your body
1. Pause and check	Lie still, breathe slowly, and check for pain before moving	Calm, and the ability to notice warning signs
2. Roll to your side	Bend your knees, turn your head, and roll onto your stronger side	Trunk control and some hip and shoulder movement
3. Come onto hands and knees	Push up through your arms until you’re on all fours	Arm and shoulder strength, comfortable knees
4. Crawl to a sturdy chair	Shuffle or crawl slowly to the chair and put both hands on the seat	Hip mobility and steady arms
5. Half kneel	Bring your stronger leg forward so that foot is flat on the floor	Hip and knee bend, balance on one knee
6. Push up	Lean forward, push through your front leg and arms, and rise	Leg strength, especially the thigh and buttock
7. Turn and sit	Turn your hips and sit down on the chair, then rest	Balance while turning and controlled lowering

Once you’re sitting, stay there for a few minutes and let your heart rate settle before carrying on.

If any step is too hard, stop at the last comfortable position. Being on your hands and knees beside a chair is still progress, and you can rest there or call for help.

What to do if you can’t get up

Sometimes your legs just won’t do it. That’s not a failure, and it’s safer than forcing it. Focus on this instead:

1. Call for help. Use a personal alarm, your mobile, or call out to someone in the house. A personal alarm can help you call for help quickly, which is why many people keep one on a lanyard or wrist.
2. Get to a phone. If it’s out of reach, shuffle towards it, or towards a door where you’ll be heard.
3. Stay warm. Cover yourself with a towel, cushion or the throw off the couch.
4. Keep moving gently. Wriggle your toes, bend your ankles, and change position a little every so often if it doesn’t hurt.

A good habit is to keep your mobile in your pocket around the house, rather than on the kitchen bench.

Even if you manage to get up and feel fine, see your doctor after a fall. This applies even if you weren’t injured. Your GP can look for things that may have contributed, like medications, blood pressure changes, eyesight or a new health problem.

Exercises that make getting up easier

Getting off the floor is a chain of smaller movements, and practising each part builds strength and familiarity. Practise first with someone present, and if you have a heart, joint or balance condition, check with your GP or an exercise physiologist before you start.

1. Supervised floor transfer practice

This is the full skill from the table, practised calmly rather than after a real fall.

1. Place a sturdy chair on a carpeted floor or a firm mat, with someone beside you.
2. Lower yourself down using the chair, reversing the steps (half kneel, hands and knees, then side lying).
3. Rest for a moment, then follow the seven steps back up to sitting.

Reps: 1 to 2 practice runs, a couple of times a week.

Easier: Practise only getting down to hands and knees and back up. Harder: Use a lower step or couch instead of a chair.

Safety tip: Always have another person in the room, and stop if you feel dizzy at any stage.

2. Half kneeling hold

Half kneeling is the key position for pushing up, and often the hardest part.

1. Kneel on a cushion beside a kitchen bench or sturdy chair, holding on with one hand.
2. Bring one foot forward so it’s flat on the floor, knee bent at roughly a right angle.
3. Sit tall and hold the position, then swap legs.

Holds: 10 to 20 seconds each side, 2 to 3 times.

Easier: Hold on with both hands and use a thicker cushion under the knee. Harder: Hold on lightly with just your fingertips.

Safety tip: If kneeling hurts your knees, skip this one and ask an exercise physiologist for an alternative.

3. Sit to stand

This builds leg strength for the push up, and helps with getting out of the car at Chadstone.

1. Sit near the front of a firm chair with your feet hip-width apart and slightly behind your knees.
2. Lean forward a little, “nose over toes”, and stand up, using your hands on your thighs or the armrests if needed.
3. Stand tall, then slowly lower yourself back down.

Reps: 8 to 12, for 2 sets.

Easier: Use a higher chair or push through the armrests. Harder: Cross your arms over your chest, or lower more slowly.

Safety tip: Put the chair against a wall so it can’t slide backwards.

4. Hip bridges

Strong buttock muscles help you push up from half kneeling and make rolling over easier.

1. Lie on your back on the bed or a mat with your knees bent and feet flat.
2. Squeeze your buttocks and lift your hips until your body makes a straight line from shoulders to knees.
3. Hold for a moment, then lower slowly.

Reps: 8 to 12, for 2 sets.

Easier: Lift only a small way. Harder: Hold at the top for 5 seconds.

Safety tip: Stop if you feel pain in your lower back, and keep the movement smooth rather than jerky.

If you’d like these exercises set up for you and progressed safely, our falls prevention and balance training program includes floor transfer practice as part of a broader plan.

Reducing the chance of a fall in the first place

Learning to get up is your back-up plan. Hazards in and around the home can cause falls, so a quick walk-through with fresh eyes is worthwhile.

• Clear the hallway of shoes, bags and cords
• Use night lights between the bedroom and bathroom
• Secure or remove loose rugs and mats
• Take care on uneven Melbourne footpaths and wet leaves in autumn
• Carry Coles bags in both hands to stay balanced, or use a trolley

Balance and strength training matter just as much as the home itself. Our article on how to improve your balance and avoid falls as you get older walks through simple balance exercises you can add to the ones above.

When to see an exercise physiologist

It’s a good idea to get some professional help if:

• You’ve had a fall, or more than one, in the past year
• You couldn’t get up on your own after a fall
• You’re worried about falling and have started avoiding activities
• You struggle to get up from a low chair, the toilet or the car
• You have a condition such as osteoarthritis or osteoporosis, or you’re recovering from surgery

At Summit Health Group, an exercise physiology assessment starts with your falls history, health and goals. We then check your strength, balance, walking and how you move between the floor, a chair and standing, and build a program that suits you.

We see clients at our Malvern and Blackburn clinics. If getting to a clinic is difficult, our exercise physiology home visits let us practise getting up in your own home, using your own furniture, which is often the most useful setting of all.

If you or someone you care for has had a fall, or you’d simply like the confidence of knowing what to do, book an assessment with our team. We’ll help you build the strength and skills to feel steadier at home and out and about.